Astronaut Sunita Williams to Visit NASA Glenn February 15

CLEVELAND -- On Friday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m., NASA astronaut Sunita Williams will visit NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to speak to center employees and members of the local news media regarding her four months spent aboard the International Space Station conducting research and exploration.

Williams, who was born in Euclid, Ohio, launched aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on July 14, 2012. She landed in Kazakhstan on November 18, 2012, after spending 127 days aboard the station as an Expedition 32 flight engineer and Expedition 33 commander. She was the first Ohio astronaut to command an expedition mission. While aboard the space station, she conducted three spacewalks, during which she and crewmate Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, repaired several critical elements of the complex.

Spending a total of 322 days in space on two missions, Williams now ranks sixth on the all-time U.S. endurance list, and second all-time for a female. With 50 hours and 40 minutes, Williams holds the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut.

Williams conducted research on five experiments developed by Glenn. She also completed an in-space triathlon, running on a treadmill using a new and improved harness developed at Glenn's Exercise Countermeasures Lab.

Reporters interested in attending the event should contact Lori Rachul or the Media Relations Office 216-433-2901 to be cleared through Security.